Chapter 42 - The Kingdoms Status Quo (1/2)
“Good grief, what was that?”
None of the men lying around respond to Syltina’s words, as she grumbled while dusting off her clothes.
“Let’s go, Tedla-sama. We stand out a bit too much. Let’s hurry up with the shopping so we can finish and return.”
“Yes.”
A lone man matches his steps with Syltina and Tedla who walked away and pushed their way out of the gathered onlookers.
“Ara, welcome back, Al. Were you able to meet?”
“Yeah. We were able to meet properly.”
The man who was tailing them, Alhart, nods in reply, as Syltina smiles his way.
“Oh. That’s great, then. And? Who were those?”
“They were part of the group that lost to Fara. We’ve already finished them.”
“That’s great, then.”
“By the way, Sylti, Fara gave me something interesting.”
Alhart takes out a piece of paper and presents it to Syltina as he speaks.
“What?”
“It’s a new order given to all the Knights, including Fara and The Special Command Forces.”
“I see. So, the King has finally begun to move.”
“Yeah. Well, they’re moving within our expectations though. We made the smart choice by deciding to avoid populated villages from now on.”
“Yeah. It helped that the one we met was Fara.”
“Ummm…. What on earth are you talking about?”
Tedla asks Syltina and Alhart, who were talking by themselves.
“Hmmm? Ahh, that’s right,”
“The King gave a royal order to all the Kingdom’s Knights. It seems they are to escort us to the Royal Capital as soon as they find us.”
“Us?”
“The people who went on the purification journey with the Saintess. Specifically, Al and me.”
Unlike Alhart, whose words were ambiguous, Syltina unhesitatingly hands the paper she received from Alhart to Tedla.
Towards her action, Alhart blinks in surprise.
“Hey, Sylti, is it okay?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“I see.”
Even without hearing enough details, Alhart nods at Syltina and collects the paper from Tedla.
“Don’t tell the Saintess nor the Prince about it, or else it’s gonna get messy.”
“Ah, yes…….Umm, will we not be returning to the Royal Capital?”
“Why would it be necessary to return?”
“Eh? But, the King’s order is……”
“We don’t belong to this country, so we don’t have any responsibility in carrying out the King’s orders.”
“In the first place, this is an order to the Knights, and not necessarily a direct order for us to return to the Royal Capital, so, there is no need for us to act on the knowledge that we have been given such an order.”
“……”
“Sylti, did you know? That’s called sophism.”
“Oh my. But, it’s not wrong, is it?”
“Beats me. Besides, we both know what they’re going to tell us once we return.”
“Eh?”
“You’re right.”
“Umm, do you know why the King would want us to return to the Royal Capital?”
“Of course, we do. Anyone who truly knows about the country’s current status would figure it quite easily.”
“The country’s current status?”
“Oi, Sylti, is it really fine to talk to him about this? Won’t he talk to the others?”
“Right, there is a possibility of him talking. Well, if he does talk, then, it just means that he has no more room to choose.”